Post by admin on Mar 29, 2004 7:21:43 GMT -5

Has anyone been to a good show lately? I saw the Allman Brothers last night playing their last night of the year at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. It was AWESOME! After a night with many special guests, Mike Mattison (the singer from the Derek Trucks Band) sang a song, the next song had Mike Gordon (from Phish) on bass! Derek rocked out (I am a huge fan of him and his solo band) and his wife played slide on a song too! The encore was a great rendition of Derek's version of Bock to Bock that seemed to last forever, but the best part was meeting Mike Mattison on the subway after the show! What a night! Too bad the Allmans wont be at the 'roo this year, they were great last june!

Post by lunaladybug on Mar 29, 2004 7:32:34 GMT -5

I just saw the Chemical Brothers friday night in new york. Awesome show! They weren't actually playing their own music, just spinning but they were great, and it was a very cool time. Oh, I'll be seeing Crystal Method this Friday. Can't wait!

Post by ka mai on Mar 29, 2004 9:09:59 GMT -5

I saw the Slip in Chicago this past weekend. Amazing show.

I had heard a little bit of their music before but didn't realize there was such a strong jazz influence. The chops on all three of them are really amazing, and I love the changes in tone from jazz to rock and in between. I also thought that there was a bit more of a indie/punk edge to some of their vocal stuff (just a touch, I wouldn't describe their music that way) than you often get in the jam band scene, which I enjoyed. I'm definitely going to try to get a hold of some more of their stuff and add them to my "not to be missed" list.

I'm sorry I missed them at Bonnaroo last year and would definitely love to see them added this year.

Now I'm EAGERLY looking forward to the Quannum World Tour on April 10. Do yourself a favor and check out this show if it is coming to your town. Tickets are pricey ($30 in Chicago) but the bill is packed.

Post by robert071259 on Mar 30, 2004 11:25:40 GMT -5

Derek Trucks-- now there is musical genetic engineering if ever there was one. and what promise for future generations in their baby...Derek Trucks for a father and Susan Tedeschi for a mother! I hope my 70 year old body will still be a Rooing when he plays at the 20th BRoo!!!! I think Drive by Truckers are scheduled to play at Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga a few days after BRoo, so they will be in the area if there isn't an excusivity rider in their contract with Riverbend.SawDDBB a couple of weeks ago in the Nooga.

Post by PrinceCaspian on Apr 26, 2004 12:10:28 GMT -5

I went to the Spring Weekend Party at Colgate Universiety and saw The Wailers, Tim Reynolds and this awesome band from balitmore called The Bridge. Check them out, they blew me away! thebridgemusic.com/They have a beatboxing mandolin player! It may sound corny but he's one of the best beat boxers I've ever heard, and the band really incorporates his skills into their playing very well.

Post by chillybonz on Apr 26, 2004 13:12:03 GMT -5

Got to see NMAS, out-freakin-standing ;).. Seen Buddy Guy and Double Trouble Sat, these guys were totally awsome.. Double Trouble brought out somthing in Buddy, He was all over the place, all in the crowd, and getting down the whole show. Checking out Mule Wed, and Umphrey's Mcgee Friday, I will let ya'll know how it went... I am sure i won't be disappointed..

Post by ka mai on May 1, 2004 23:04:07 GMT -5

Saw Homonculus and Bumpus in Chicago tonight.

Homonculus is a moderately good Cincinatti band that has a few amazing songs ("Think You're Pretty"?). Bumpus is an amazing funk band that needs to expand its sphere of influence beyond Chicago (Bonnaroo '04's Rachael Yamagata is an alumnus).

Post by nature boy on May 5, 2004 3:38:44 GMT -5

This last weekend I saw the Foo Fighters on Friday, Ween on Saturday, and George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic on Sunday.

The Foo Fighters were so-so (not too bad for radio rock) ... Saw my first Ween show ;D . Tight band, crazy songs. Unfortunately it was raining, but I still enjoyed it. The P. Funk was all about it Sunday night. The soundboard eventually cutout their main speakers after they'd played 45 minutes past their 'slated' timeslot. They played another fifteen minutes with their stage amplifiers and no vocals. Sometime during the last 30 minutes of the show, Bootsy lost his balance and fell down after a small push from George. He was carried of stage in someone's arms, but the show went on... someone was already picking up a bass when Bootsy was floored.

Post by Funktopus on May 7, 2004 12:57:46 GMT -5

I've seen Daimen Rice and Violent Fems recently. Both were awesome shows. Daimen Rice played at Bogarts up the street from me and that set kicked so much a$$. I can't wait to see him again. Violent Fems played in Columbus, only show this year, they kept calling it their "Great American Tour." You could tell they were having a good time. It's not music, but I saw Dave Cheppelle live. My sides hurt after his show. It was great.

Post by kozmikbunny on May 12, 2004 19:31:28 GMT -5

Organized religion destroys who we are by inhibiting our actions... by inhibiting our decisions, out of... out of fear of some... some intangible parent figure who... who shakes a finger at us from thousands of years ago and says... and says, "Do it - Do it and I'll fu(kin' spank you."

Post by bellakabey on May 13, 2004 15:55:31 GMT -5

Agreed re Strokes -- saw them lastr week and was surprised they only played for like 70 min. They have enough material to play for longer. Plus they kept screaming at the crowd, and the only word I could ever make out was fu@k. Oh well, their 70 min was worth the visit.

Post by JayFromRochester on May 17, 2004 4:34:16 GMT -5

Okay so check this out. It's going to be too long, but bear with me here:

I had tix to the Willie Nelson show in Albany on Sat. 5/15. Him, Charlie Daniels, and Marshall Tucker. Every hillbilly, stumpjumper, wookie and countrified knotty dread within' 100 miles was comin' down from the hills for this one. I was stoked. Not to mention that I was taking mom and dad for dad's 55th birthday. Willie's his favorite and right up there on my list too.

Then Willie cancelled. (Get well soon, man.)

But, we went anyway. What the h3ll? I'd heard rumors that they'd gotten someone to fill in for ole Willie, but hadn't paid attention to whom. It was just going to be some country thing. Who cared?

It was at the Pepsi and our seats were in the stratosphere. Now mom and pop don't go to shows as a rule. In my 27 years I can think of exactly 7 that they've attended. So they weren't hip to the idea that if the arena is only a third full your seat assignment is only a gentle suggestion after the opening act. The only place there are even ushers looking for tickets is on the floor. With all that empty space the sound really rattled around in there and up in the nosebleeds it was particularly bad. You really needed to move.

So after Marshall Tucker (who played six songs, all of which blew), and Charlie Daniels (who beat the war drum too long but got down to playing some pretty good electrified bluegrass before closing with the obligatory 'Devil Went Down to Georgia') me and the missus went on a little 'walkabout.'

Cruising down the corridor this woman steps up to me and says, "You guys here to see Sawyer Brown?"

I don't even know who that is, but, smarta$$ that I am, I tell her, "Sure! I'm here to see EVERYBODY!"

"Then take these. We're leaving." And she hands me two tickets. For the floor. Fourth row. Dead center.

Who cares who Sawyer Brown is, I've never been this close at any arena show before.

So me and the missus, chuckling at our good fortune, go down to our new seats, making sure to wave up to the folks and make them wonder how we got in there. Then we get into our seats and wave up at my sister and a friend (in a different section of the upper deck). The woman next to my wife says, "Are those your friends up there? If they are, they can have these." And she hands me two MORE for the floor.

So I go bring down my little sis.

I still don't have a clue about who this headliner is, mind you.

So the lights go out, the band comes on and suddenly it occurs to me that what I'm seeing is a pretty tight rock band, trapped in a country band's body. They really kicked a surprising amount of arse. TONS of fun! Good rock covers. Covered Hank Williams' (?) "The Race is On." And they just looked like they were having a blast. A lot of the time when I see these New Country acts they have what's obviously a pre-arranged setlist that they stick to show after show. I really got the feeling that these fellas came to Play, and made up a lot of it on the spot. I wish I could tell you more exactly what they played, but I'm horrid with remembering setlists. Trust me though. They were really tight.

So at the end of it all, I got handed miracle stubs I wasn't even looking for twice in one night-- to a show that was WAY better than I ever thought it would be. (I really owe some karma now!)

Is this the way to kick off the summer concert season or what??

(See? I told you it was too long, but maybe you got a little chuckle out of the tale. )

Post by JayFromRochester on May 22, 2004 10:16:05 GMT -5

I caught the most amazing show last night.

Transcendental Hayride.

They're a five-piece from San Francisco. I'd never heard of them until like Monday or Tuesday when Jambase sent me an e-mail saying they were playing in Rochester on Friday. On a whim, I popped open the band's site and listened to their MP3s and very quickly decided that they'd be worth the advertised $7 cover.

Well me and a couple buddies roll down to the Montage Grille to see the show and find out it's some kind of classy-assed jazz joint and this band is setting up for a crowd of, maybe, 35. No real dancefloor. Older crowd sitting at their cafe tables. Uh oh...

But this band kicks so much arse! Five (5) minutes into the show we all looked at each other and wondered what we'd found. These guys should be playing big halls, not little clubs. They jam wicked, wicked hard, and are super tight. A real amalgamation of sounds--intricate bluegrass pickin' one tune, funk the next, then a jam into some cool electronica-laced stuff. And then they really started to mix it up. A few numbers have a thread of Pink Floyd influence. I can't describe it, really. Just go see them when they come to your town. We managed to stay seated for about 10 minutes, then we had to get up and get a groove on, regardless of whether or not it was what this club really expect of their patrons. (Picture that--five not-as-heady-as-we-used-to-be 25-30 year olds Rockin' Out in this swanky jazz joint... 8-))

I walked out of the club a few hours later knowing that I was going to be telling this story in a couple of years about how 'The first time I caught this band they were playing in this little club in Rochester for $5 a head and nobody knew who they were to show up and see them.'

And, as an aside, I had the good fortune to be able to tell their lead singer how great I thought they were in person. He just jumped off stage during a solo and hit the men's room while I happened to be there. Call it fortuitous bladder synchronization, I guess. A very, very nice guy who seemed really surprised that me and the fellas were so blown away by their show.

Gang, these guys could VERY easily play Bonnaroo next year if anyone knew about them. They're every bit as good as Ulu, gutbucket, Umphrey's, Addison Groove, and Galactic. In my opinion they're a lot better than Widespread, though I know saying that will strike a nerve with some of you folks.

Post by aquadrunk on May 22, 2004 10:48:25 GMT -5

I saw My Morning Jacket & M. Ward last night at the Metro here in Chicago...oh christ...I think they solidified themselves as my favorite live band. They play with so goddamn much passion, and Jimmy James played with a plastic parrot hooked to his shoulder the whole show...I don't know if that thing was surgically attached or what, but the fucker didn't move an inch with all his thrashing and hair tossing! M. Ward came out and did a couple songs with them, and man, that kid is talented. All of their new material ((probably 3 songs that I hadn't heard before)) was excellent, and probably a little more experimental than their other material. Almost leaning towards the Chocolate & Ice EP stuff.

Yeah, I got blazing drunk and saw anoher phenomenal MMJ performance...amped to check them out at the Roo!

Post by danbird on Jul 10, 2004 8:01:15 GMT -5

revival of old threads is a thing of beauty. So I saw 311, the roots, and MMW last night. MMW was great as usual, but very short. The roots are really good live, I was suprised at their musicianship. 311 would have been alright if I wouldn't have spewed my guts out during their set. I think Medeski should have been headlining though (like that would ever happen).